Raina's So-Called Adventure in So-Called Middle-Earth
by Elvish Cupcake
Summary: Raina is not a girl - she is a cat. And she is most unhappy at leaving her nice, warm cat-bed and the ready-served food for the giant spiders, scary elf-lords and crowded bars.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or place names mentioned in this story, apart from Raina (A cat - who wants to own this stuck-up feline that doesn't like ketchup?) and Vera (The said cat's owner.) All that belongs to Tolkien.**

**Author's Note: Thanks for viewing my story. It's just a random thing I though up while stroking my _own _cat, Gammi.**

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Oh joy of joys! Raina quickly gobbled up the small chunk of chicken that fell from the dinner table, before anyone noticed. It tasted so meaty, so dreamy, so... spicy? This was not a good thing. Oh no, no, no. She tried to spit out the offending item, but it just didn't come. She was reduced to swallowing it, in fear of attracting more attention to her. It was vile, and covered in the red paste that humans loved so much. Why couldn't they eat more normal things like mice? They had enough to build an army of rodents, living under their floor. She trotted over to her water bowl and inhaled great gulps of the wonderful liquid. _Saved by the water bowl yet again! _She though as she padded softly up the stairway to take a quick, pre-hunting nap. The detour to the kitchen was merely to whet her appetite (although it may have ruined it instead). Raina usually did her hunting expeditions at the same time as her crazed owner, Vera, committed to yet another thorough search of the nearby woods for passages to "Middle-Earth". Whatever that was.

* * *

Soon enough, she was woken by the loud slamming of the front door of the human dwelling. _Must be time_,Raina though, _to find something edible._

She slipped through the small-door and outside, into the fresh evening air. It smelled so good! All around her birds chirruped and sang, flowers swayed in the breeze, cloud rolled overhead to create beautiful patterns in the glowing amber sky – a picture of pure perfection. Or so it seemed until _it _came.

The Dog.

The first sign she got of it was the low growling coming from the nearby bush of petunias.

The second was the horrible whiff of rotten meat.

The third was the sight of huge, hungry eyes.

Raina did not wait, but tore off in the opposite direction. She ran and did not stop until she reached the relative safety on the peak of a tall forest pine. She dimly heard Vera calling after her, but paid no heed and concentrated on her immediate problem. The problem that presented itself as a frightening monster sitting and waiting under the tree with its yellow fangs pulled back in a menacing snarl. Every time Raina moved, the Dog would follow. Every time she made to come down, the Dog would growl and bark up at her, with his front paws stretched upwards into the trees lower branches. The claws were huge, Raina observed, maybe even longer than the usual length of claws Dogs had. Possibly the largest. She certainly did not feel like being on a Dog's menu this particular evening.

Raina saw that she had no escape route, save one. She could wait until the Dog got tired and went away...or she could try to advance further into the forest by way of branches.

The Dog showed no sign of relenting his long pursuit and Raina did not want to risk falling from the tree, right into the his open jaws. She would have to wait until it went away.

* * *

Several hours later saw a very disgruntled Raina sitting on a scratchy pine branch and a very annoyed Dog sitting _under _the said tree. She had small spikes jarred in her flank from trying to make herself comfortable enough to lay down. Suddenly, Raina made up her mind. It was either get away or stay here all night (and possibly day) long. She decided to try her luck at escaping. On the other hand, this was a large Dog … and it was still hungry. Nevertheless, she prepared to jump.

The Dog saw her hackles raised, and preparing to spring. He spied that the foolish cat chose a small, light branch that could never hold its weigh, and so positioned himself exactly where the cat would fall, if it did – which was a definite probability, if it was not certain.

Raina knew that the branch would be too small to hold her weight, but the others were too far from any surrounding tree. This one would have to do.

She sprung away from the tree at the same moment as the Dog jumped up, snapping his jaws so close to her stomach. She felt a stinging pain in her abdomen (additional to the pinpricks from the pine tree), but as she caught the branch, she gripped it tightly with her claws. The Dog howled in misery as before his eyes, the cat which should have been his dinner, sprang further away into the trees. He gave chase but not before the aforementioned twig hit his head with a resounding thud.

He tore after her, relentlessly pursuing his charge.

It was always a little bit ahead of him, now back on the ground, and this flexed his nerves to no end. He would get it before it went much further!

But the Dog did not live up to his promise. The reason was a giant, hairy spider, looming ahead of the Cat. Raina did not, in fact, see the spider until it was far too late. She had stopped running when she noticed the great big Dog had stopped chasing her. Raina was completely flummoxed and took in her new surroundings with caution.

It smelled very familiar, something she smelled in the old, musty rooms of her owners' dwelling. Only it had something much more strange to it. Something larger. That was when she turned to see the silent beast hiding behind great, thick silvery nets. A spider's web.

In fact, the creature she was gazing up in horror at was a giant spider.

And to pour more sweet milk in the bowl, she found she was standing in a whole nest of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or place names mentioned in this chapter apart from the cat Raina. The Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R. . **

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Raina opened her bleary eyes and tried to look around. Or was it Raina that opened her eyes?

Was her name even Raina? Was _she _Raina? Maybe she was somewhere else...maybe she was just asleep, her whiskers twitching and dreaming of nice, tasty chicken without any red sauce that humans so loved to eat...maybe she was back home.

With a jolt, Raina was awakened from her reverie and instantly realized she entangled in thick, silvery webs. It was very warm inside of them, and they were also very sticky, making it impossible to move. The terror caught up with her and she began to panic, swiftly tangling herself more and more into the silvery mass until she had next to none chances of escape. Only then did she stop, think and...continue to panic.

By this time, she was thrashing around wildly in her prison and yowling to any who would hear her. Unfortunately, that meant only Giant Spiders. And they didn't like their dinner to move when they were about to eat it.

Some of the Spiders started descending from the above treetops. Raina could only see shadows from her place of imprisonment, but she already knew that if she did not do something _fast,_ she would not do anything again.

She bit and scratched for all she was worth but to no avail. She was securely wrapped in strong, silver Spider web.

Raina felt one Spider looming over her and coming closer. This was not good, _extremely _not good...

It all happened in a moment. One, moment, the spider was standing over her, sting poised to strike it's victim – Raina – and the next, there was a big gaping hole where part of the web had been seconds before.

The spider had missed, but only by a hair's breadth.

Seeing it's mistake, it prepared to stab once again, but Raina, seeing her chance of escape, clawed and bit her way out. She was a second too late though, and the sting caught part of her tail.

Almost as suddenly as the blow came, she could no longer feel most of her tail. This was certainly an important loss, but her life mattered more.

She tore away from the Spider nest, dodging legs, claws, stings and various other objects of such origin. They just kept coming and coming, and it felt as though Raina did not even put a dent in the distance towards the end of the Spider nest.

Of course, this maybe because she could hardly stand, let alone run.

Raina glanced around as she dodged yet another sting and a rather miss-aimed claw. _Not a smart move, _she berated herself after she had tripped on another stone in her way. She was really starting to feel the loss of the movability of her tail, as she could not properly control her body weight and balance and it seemed that at any moment she could trip and come crashing down to the ground, to her doom.

Just when it all seemed hopeless to Raina, the huge, thorny bushes came into focus. She set her sights on it and made towards her destination as fast as her already numb legs could carry her, avoiding more of the imprisoning Spider webs. Pure terror and relief washed over her as she dove into the scratchy safety of the thorn bush. The Spiders were far too large to fit through the undergrowth and she could stay there for as long as she could. Her only problem would be to find food in this dreary forest, so unlike the one she came into regularly when she was at home.

What _was _this horrible place? How did she get here?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, and any characters/place names mentioned in this chapter, apart from the cat Raina and the crow. **

**Author's Note: Hello all! So sorry that this took so long to get out, but I think it paid off in the end. Thank you so much to my lovely reviewers and to the wonderful people who followed/favourited also. I love you guys! Also, thank you to anyone who has read without reviewing. I don't know who you are, but you're still awesome for reading this! As promised, this chapter is much longer.**

**On a side note, if any one does not like descriptions of cats hunting in the wild, you have been warned! Nothing too graphic, only a few mentions. Cats need to eat too!**

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Raina licked her matted fur with her rough tongue. The monotone motion calmed her slightly. It was getting dark again, and she still had not eaten anything. Searching around this forest did not pay off, no matter how much she wanted to believe this. Really, it was atrocious! Not even a mouse in sight. Not even a small, scrawny mouse that her owner Vera had legions of!

Raina stayed in that thorn bush for hours after the incident with the Spiders, waiting for some unlucky rodent to pass, but none came. Were not mice active at night? It was like they decided to avoid this place. _And they are probably right too, _Raina mused, _if they do not want to be covered in disgusting webs spun by Spiders ten times the size of me._ She ran her tongue over the fur on her belly yet again, revolted at the taste, yet ecstatic that most of the web had come of.

When she deemed her coat to be nearly rid of the foul stuff, she stood up and stretched out her back in a wide arc. Her silver fur had a flat grey tint to it, and looked dull and lifeless. She took pride in her beautiful covering before, but not when her food bowl was goodness knows where, and she had no way to get back to it.

She would just have to do with the food bowl that was not present.

She padded silently towards the small indent in the thorns and foliage in the bush – the indent she had made while fleeing from the Spiders. Having only recently removed the sharp thorns, she was reluctant to experience sharp stings in her side so soon, but if she did not find prey soon, she would not find any for a long while after that too.

Swiftly, trying to avoid the thorns, she ducked beneath the lowest branches and slipped silently into the ever-gloomy forest of what was known to Middle-Earth as Mirkwood.

But, of course, not to Raina.

* * *

The pads on Raina's paws were raw and sore from walking in a forest for hours. She had not caught sight of hide nor hair from any small animal, or even a big one – that is, apart from the Giant Spiders. She decided not to stay and watch what the spiders ate to survive after a quick debate with herself, thinking that if they discovered her she might not be able to get away another time. After all, her tail was still slightly numb and did not respond to all of her movements and it was crucial that it controlled her balance if she faced another predator.

_Were there any other predators here? The spiders must not be the only ones here..._ Raina brushed off the though and concentrated on her immediate complication. Finding food.

It was so dark and overshadowed in this forest that even Raina walked nearly blind in the shadows. She could seldom catch a glimpse of the sun, always it was swallowed up by the darkness in the treetops. What little light did find its way through the shadows, was weak and faint. There was no hope here, only despair...utter, hopeless despair.

A sudden flutter of wings caught Raina's attention. Her sharp ears swiveled around to locate the sound and she poised herself to pounce if the bird came anywhere near. She could not let it get away, she might not have another meal in hours.

The crow, as expected blended into the foliage, and Raina almost missed the light sheen of the crow's feathers. It reflected the little sunlight that was filtered through the trees, and for this, Raina was grateful. She finally found her next food bowl!

The crow squawked indignantly when it noticed Raina and hopped away further into the shadows. It gave a little flutter of wings and lifted a few paw lengths into the air before crashing back down again. It looked very young, maybe just a small chick not fully adept to fly. Raina stalked forward, her belly close to the ground and her ears flattened against her head. The crow was panicking and screeching wildly, but it could not hop far enough out of Raina's sight. It was like a game, Raina stalking forward, the chick in a frenzied panic, hopping away. Soon enough though, Raina was barely a body-length away from it. With stunning agility, she pounced forward and gripped the helpless chick with her claws. She did not care that it was small and scrawny, she did not care that the meant was tough and made her dangerously thirsty. All she cared about for the moment was that she had gotten her meal. Her stomach was full for the first time in many hours.

* * *

Raina did not feel so content for very long though, as her thirst came back to pull at her whiskers with full force now that she had gotten nourishment. Her tongue felt dry and she was fast losing her strength. As she had not come across even a small trickle of water on her way to the middle of nowhere, she doubted it was anywhere nearby. The pressing silence did not help much, and she strained her ears to hear even a soft gurgle of a small stream or the faint sparkle of a muddy puddle. Anything would be a miracle in this darkness of an unknown forest.

She rose to her paws and walked away from the remaining feathers of the crow. The meat felt heavy in her stomach and her throat was raw with thirst. The further she walked into the gloom, the more she felt she was walking away from all means of hydration. _That bird must have lived somehow...its family must have lived somehow, in this dreary place. Where did they get their water?_ She thought quietly to herself. Surely they knew where to get water from. Raina felt a pang of regret for that crow, when she realised it might have been better to let it live and follow it to the nearest water source. It was far too late to think of this now, but if she found where the nest was, maybe she could find food _and_ water for later days. She could stay by the nest, unnoticed, unheard...Raina did not even notice as her mouth filled with the little saliva that she had left.

She tried to turn back, but everything looked the same to her. Everywhere was darkness, trees and more trees. _My memory must still be fuzzy from the after-effects of the venom. It has to wear off soon..._She had no intent to return to the thorn bush by any means, but she wanted to return to the carcass of the bird to see where it might have come from. Maybe it left tracks, and she could follow with her nose. With her nose! What if she followed her own scent back to the bird?

She opened her mouth slightly and sniffed the air. She had come somewhere from the left – or was it the right? Raina decided it was best to guess in these situations. It was too hard to distinguish her scent from the ground. She was covered in the mud anyway.

Raina creeped forward on her sore paws, stopping every so often to sniff the ground – it was important to not lose the faint scent of her, mud and the bird. All rolled into one, it was not a pleasant scent, she noted drily.

In less than an hour, Raina had come once again across the bird. It had taken far longer than she expected, but she was there nevertheless. She walked up to it warily and inhaled a whiff of its stale scent. It smelled absolutely foul, and she twitched her nose in disgust. She sniffed the ground again after and followed the smell into another copse of trees, exactly the same as the one she come out of. _This place was like those mazes Vera spoke of. The ones that they never found their way out of._ _At least out of those, you could see the sky and climb on the sides._The trail led her past bushes, trees, darkness, trees, bushes, a creature, trees – _a creature? _Raina spun around and looked straight at something in the water. It looked so ferocious, mud caked across a grey coat, eyes wild, fur in clumps, whiskers ragged and uneven... _so unlike me. Who could this be? _She backed away from the puddle, thinking it was guarded by some monster who was as equally thirsty as her. She hissed at the ground and spit at the monster. When it did the same back, momentarily after her, she raised her clawed paw. It did the same. Her fur standing on end and mentally preparing herself to meet this new beast, she crawled forward and pounced.

Why did everything feel so cold? Why were her paws wet? _The monster is rippling! _This was by far the weirdest sight she had witnessed in this forest. The monster was wobbling and distorted in many little lines, and did nothing but stare in shock at Raina, who stared back, equally stunned. It was almost as if her expression was mirrored in water. Mirrored in a puddle...

Raina's ears perked up as she heard a glorious sound. The sound of a fast moving stream, of gushing water near by. She was saved! She gave not a though more to the "monster" and bounded forward towards the whoosh of churning water. Soon enough, she came across a stream, not too wide for a human but wide enough to stop her from leaping. _Who cares? I just want the water._ Out of the corner of her eyes, she fleetingly saw a small, wooden boat before she leaned down to lap up the water thirstily.

Her body felt so heavy...she was so drowsy...her eyes were closing...

The innocently sparkly water was the last thing Raina saw before everything faded to black, the forest tilted at an alarming angle and the ground came up to meet her in a cold, hard embrace.

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**Well, there you go, chapter three is finally up! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think of this and what I should improve on, e. t. c... :) Also, I'm taking requests at what you want Raina to do and/or experience in Middle-Earth. Feel free to tell me your ideas. :) See you next time!  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or place names mentioned in this chapter apart from the cat Raina.**

**Author's Note: Wow! I'm really happy at the response this story is receiving and I'm ecstatic at all the lovely reviews, follows and favourites . Thank you so much everyone, you've all been really lovely. :) Oh, and just as a warning, this will contain different points of views from different characters. Hopefully you will not be too confused! :)  
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Up and down...up and down...up and down...

_Ow._

Raina woke with a start. Something hard and cold hit against her head. The sharp swinging motion was annoying her, and her head was protesting loudly. In the form of meows, yowls, growls and wails.

The swinging motion was increasing and it seemed to Raina that wherever she was, the place was sloping slightly backwards. She still hadn't opened her eyes, and she did not want to for fear of what she would find.

Something, by the sound of it, was also wailing and scratching nearby her. It was emitting strange hissing noises that seemed almost humane to Raina, but not quite. For a fleeting moment, Raina was reminded of a hissing and steaming animal that Vera and her parents used daily back at her home. It poured out hot, steaming water from its muzzle, that quickly turned brown when they added a small, strange sack to it, full of grass and leaves. The grass and leaves were shredded so finely that Raina could not begin to fathom how they must have sharpened their claws. And then they drank it! The humans drank the scalding, yucky mixture! As far as Raina could remember, the humans named the draught "tee" - this is what it sounded like, at least. What a stupid name. Did "_meow" _not suit them enough?

The rocking motion continued as Raina drifted of into an uneasy sleep, full of the happy memories of Vera and her food bowl.

* * *

"Raina! Come on girl! Where are you, now? Raina, please!" Vera called into the icy wind. She was clutching Raina's favourite food bowl in her left hand, some fish-flavoured cat treats in the other. There were tear marks streaking down her face, her hair being tugged and pulled at by the strong wind, whipping around her blotchy, red features. The weather was horrific and Vera was concerned for Raina. She was missing for almost week now, and Vera had almost given up hope. If only that aggressive rottweiler had not chased her into the forest that day, Raina would now be curled up in her lap, purring away happily as Vera's unruly younger brother destroyed the supplies of paper with his wax crayons. Dangerous weapons, those were. Especially the red ones, those look like the could give you a nosebleed.

Vera had always enjoyed watching as Raina chased around the crayons, and hooting with laughter as the crayons got stuck under the sofa – Raina was too large to fit under that, and they often lost packs after packs of crayons that way, as Raina pushed it further back under the sofa in an ill-resulting attempt to get it back out. Those were times that Vera could recall. The were the times that-

"Vera, come back in here straight away! It's freezing out there!" her mum interrupted from inside the warmth of the house.

"But mum, Raina is still out there somewhere!" Vera called back, striding forward through the strong gale.

"It's getting dark, and Raina will be fine for one more day! She will find her way back, she always did. This is Raina. The Graceful, the cat you named like an elf. As far as I know elves like a good adven-"

"Alright, alright mum. I get it. I'm coming back in. No need for the relations to the Lord of the Rings." Vera stomped back inside the house and unzipped her warm coat. Spring or no spring, the evenings were freezing cold anyway. Her hat landed on the hanger as she threw it without looking. Her mum started to speak, but Vera stopped her.

"Mum, I just want to go to bed. Maybe Raina will come back tomorrow. We can look in the park next time, okay?" she said, dejected at the loss of her beloved cat.

"Vera, dear, of course we will. Just come and have some dinner, mashed potatoes and sausages, you favourite!" Vera's mum called, but Vera was already in her room. She heard the door shutting loudly, and stifled sobs. The girl was not taking the loss very well at all, any fool could see that.

If only Raina could.

* * *

The speed of the travel was grating on her nerves now, and Raina hated the feel of the scratchy wool. The creature beside her was also wailing loudly and her ears and head ached for the noise. She suspected she was being carried in some strange contraption that let in no direct sunlight but teased her with small holes in the side. It was stuffy, but Raina was grateful she did not meet the horrible creature travelling beside her. Not for the first time, she dug her claws into the side of the trap and spit at the strange animal beside her. That always made it stop...for a while, anyhow.

"We hates it! We curses it, my precious! Nasty man, he takes us, takes us from our homes! _We hates it!"_ the creature wailed. Its voice was cracked and broken, and it spoke in strange, drawn out sentences. Raina felt another hard bump when the captor hit the trap near her. This was his way of shutting up the creature – she preferred a much more simpler way. Raina curled up into a ball again, but she could not find sleep, not even a short nap to cure some of her weariness. The rocking motion was nauseating and she wanted it to stop soon – somehow. She had no clue how long she already spent in this stuffy prison, but even a minute seemed far too long. And this, all this time, seemed like all eternity.

It looked like luck was in her favour at last though, and her captor stopped striding. He may have been taking a break or something of the sort, because the trap was soon filled with the delicious and tempting smell of Raina's favourite food – fish. Apparently, the creature scented it too, as the wails and hisses increased in volume and shrillness. A sound was heard, a strange one to Raina's ears. I was a soft click, and small whoosh...and blinding orange light poured into Raina's enclosure.

"Here. Eat." a gruff voice said and she found a small fish at her paws. It was stale and smelt funny, but anything was a wonder in this enclosure. Before long, the light was cut off again and it became stuffy once more, and she was left to chew on her fish alone.

* * *

After a long and wearying search, he had found the creature. It was in the sack at the moment along with that strange cat...the one he had found in the forest. Cats did not wander around Mirkwood for no reason, of this Aragorn was sure. He scratched at the coarse stubble on his chin while pondering this strange phenomenon and stomped up the grand steps leading up to the Elven King's halls. Huge stone doors loomed in front of him and he stopped to acknowledge the guards stationed there.

"_Mae g'ovannen!_" He spoke. The guards replied as such, and he was let through. They knew him here, and some knew of his mission.

Once inside, he kneeled before the Elven King.

"My lord Thranduil...I have brought the creature Gollum on Gandalf's orders. And, I believe, I may have brought something else of interest too."

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**Author's Note: I hope you were not to confused by the different POV's that there were in this chapter. _Mae g'ovannen = well met _in Sindarin. And yes, I do know how to spell 'tea' properly. You just have to remember that this is a _cat._ She is not supposed to understand people. :)  
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**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Don't forget to review. Feed that poor button the love! :) Oh, and please don't be afraid to give me some suggestions for what you would like to see Raina do now that she's in King Thranduil's halls. Really, I appreciate the ideas! :D  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character's or place names mentioned in this chapter apart from the cat Raina and the elves Camaenil, Maeasil, Erynor and Rannor.  
**

**Author's Note: I'm afraid this is a bit short, but please enjoy it anyway! Hopefully you will also get what is happening in this chapter, because I did not want to say _outright _what it was about... :D**

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"Camaenil! Stop patting that pesky cat, and start baking the next loaf. We have work to do." Maeasil grunted. She was, as a rule, quite kind-hearted but when it came to feasts in the Elven King's halls, she could get crabby with anyone who got distracted for more than a split second. That cat had come only _yestereve_ and Camaenil was already infatuated with the tiny creature. If you asked Maeasil, this animal was just plain strange.

"Yes, yes of course Maeasil. I'm coming now." Camaenil discreetly dropped Raina another chunk of chicken and scurried off to wash her hands in a stone basin and work some more on the bread and pastries that were to be carried up to the grand feast tonight. She had much work to do yet, and it would be a long time before she was finished.

Meanwhile, Raina went in search of a quiet, secluded place. She was full to bursting point with chicken and other fine delicacies, but now she did not know what to do. In the forest, she could go anywhere without fear of anyone noticing...but here, she was afraid in case she got on the nerves of the Big One again. He was frightening, and she did not want to run into him again any time soon. _Maybe that belt was a bit too much..._Raina though to herself, remembering the incident a few hours previously when she had mistaken the Elven King's belt fastener for a glittering bug. It did not end well.

Raina looked hopefully at a promising door, through which she could see a thin crack of sunlight. The door guards stood ominously at the exit, making her think that she may not get out that way just yet. Once she had given up hope of staring down the guards, she gave up in search of some bush and instead decided to wander around the palace. She padded along numerous corridors, twisting passage ways and cavernous halls filled with elaborately carved stone pillars. It was a beautiful place, but Raina did not understand the purpose of having stone floors and walls. _If they were anything like my Vera, they would have long ago carpeted their floors...and walls. This way they could reach those flies so much easier and faster, than chasing them around with useless napkins and whatnot. _Although Vera did not scurry up walls, her family used the carpets to cover up the horrible shade of green wallpaper that their grandmother had chosen especially for their house. She said it fit with the (equally awful) bog-green carpets.

_Looks like these people have a long way to go before they were even _anything_ like Vera._

Soon enough, Raina came to a small cellar. She slipped easily through the door and came face to face with a...wooden barrel. She did not wonder what the barrel was full of, because she would not drink anything that was in it anyway. The last time she had done that, she found a bitter-tasting liquid inside, and still shuddered at the though of it. Raina and unknown mixtures did not mix very well.

She sniffed the air carefully, just in case there was a Dog in the depths of the palace, and making sure that no one potentially dangerous – or anyone at all, for that matter – was there, she crouched down on the soft hay.

* * *

The soft chatter of the excited elves sounded loud and clear in the empty hallway. The feast was to be very soon, and they wanted everything to be perfect. This pair was in charge of bringing up the wine barrels.

"How many should we take, do you think?" Rannor asked.

"I have no idea. To be safe, just take all of them." Erynor replied.

"_All _of them? You are sure of this? They will be heavy, you know." Rannor countered.

"Well, what can you do? There will be a lot of elves there, we do not want a shortage of wine! If there are any left, they can always go back down."

"You know I do not like carrying barrels everywhere."

"I feel sorry for you, my friend_,_ but I am afraid I cannot do anything." The two kept bickering and moaning all the way to the cellar, but nothing could put off their festive mood once they were there, even the rather strange circumstances.

The door was wide open, and there was a strange smell in the air.

"_M__ellon nîn..._do you smell that? This scent should not be here." Erynor said to his friend, who was beside him, sniffing the strange air.

"That is true. I think it is coming from over there..." Rannor wandered over to a far corner with his nose still in the air. Unluckily, he did not see what his friend saw just under his feet.

"Rannor, be carefu-"

"_Aiiieeee!"_ Rannor screeched and stumbled backwards when he slipped on something, only to find a certain _cat_ at his feet. Erynor stood over by the doorway, chuckling slightly at his friend's misadventures.

" _M__ellon nîn_, come, get up now! Oh, you do smell." he wrinkled up his nose as he helped his disgruntled friend back onto his feet. The latter certainly seemed upset and muttered under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like "that cat was a bad idea" and brushed himself off. The cat in question was long gone by now, scared off by the happenings. She was now wandering some of the upper floors, on the hunt for small, tasty mice. She felt perfectly fine now, and she wanted some exercise. There were plenty of the small rodents scurrying around, and Raina was satisfied for most of the time.

"Let's go then. The barrels can wait, we must clean your shoes first," Erynor led his friend over to the door frame. "Before we go anywhere. We don't want to be scrubbing the floors too!" Rannor allowed himself a small grin, once he found the funny side of the situation. He wiped his shoes thoroughly on the _clean_ hay and they both made their way to the upper floors to ask someone to clean the...mess.

The cat had only stayed in Mirkwood palace for _one day_ and the madness had begun already.

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**Author's Note: So what did you all think of this chapter? Did you like it or not? Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of it, and if you have any ideas/suggestions! :)  
**

**And also, I've created a poll on my profile which asks you what place you would like Raina to visit. It would be great if you all told me what places you think Raina should visit! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/place names mentioned in this chapter, apart from the cat Raina, Camaenil and Maeasil.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long! I had a bit of Writer's Block and life caught up, but I'm back again!**

**Please enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review and tell me what you think! :)**

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It was about one month later when something of interest happened to Raina again. She had discovered many things, like where to find more chicken for a mid-day – or midnight – snack, discovered how to get outside without meowing at the guards for hours, even discovered a new friend, Camaenil. And perhaps a not-so-friendly friend, Maeasil.

Raina, being the proud cat she was, was currently settled on Camaenil's lap, while the latter scratched behind Raina's ears affectionately. She purred her delight and stretched out her hind legs so that Camaenil could stroke her tummy.

"That cat is _not _a good influence on you and your work, Camaenil. You have been sitting here for the past half an hour with that cat, when you should be working on those cakes!" Maeasil scolded the younger elf.

"I know, Maeasil. I'm coming now!" Camaenil replied, and made to get up, but Raina had other plans. "Oof! Ai, Maeasil, please come and help me! I think I'm rather stuck." she called to her friend. Raina's claws were stuck tightly into Camaenil's dress, and the latter could not get up without pushing off the cat.

So she did.

Maeasil hurried her back into the kitchen to work some more on those cakes, and Raina was left alone in the bright room.

She slid down the couch softly and trotted across the room. It was a nice room, and to Raina it seemed that it was Camaenil's little den. Everything had Camaenil's scent on it, and the little cat saw lots of drawings of Camaenil on the wooden table. People always did this – Vera once had a drawing of Raina done too. Raina didn't like it much though, and she sniffed at it once and then left to go and take a well-deserved nap. Sitting in Vera's lap for thirty minutes was tiring, thirsty work. Vera also had a fast way of making accurate drawing, and it was always a bother when she didn't use this. Vera always preferred the slow way so that she could relax and think.

Ah, Vera...Raina vowed to go searching for Vera. Sometime. At the moment, all she was up for was a short walk around the Big One's gardens, and maybe a small pre-dinner nap.

_Must remember Big One's name._ Raina though quietly to herself. When ever the people said it, it sounded like 'Thranduil'. If Raina passed him again, she made sure to keep her ears sharp and listen to the others.

While she was musing over these thoughts, she did not notice that she was already at the small passageway in the hall that led to the barrel cellar. It had a small stream at the bottom that grew into a river further on, and she used this place to slip out unnoticed by the guards at the front door. It was a relatively comfortable way out, if she did not get her paws wet.

It looked like luck was against Raina this day though.

The cold water greeted the shocked Raina hard on her back. It was one thing to get a few droplets on your paws but slipping in with your whole body was a whole different matter – and a cold one at that too!

Raina scrambled out of the large stream and on to the soft hay at the bank. Shaking out the water from her fur, she voiced her discomfort by hissing and spitting at the treacherous stream.

She stalked through a small hole in the wall and down the small, grassy path. It led right into the fragrant gardens, behind which was the archery practising field. She was headed into the gardens to catch some mice and take a nice, long nap in the lavender flowerbeds. They were comforting and relaxing, and were a great place to dry off.

Several minutes later, Raina had a mouse clamped between her jaws and was weaving through the masses of flowers and other various plants to reach the back of the gardens. The lavender bush was huge, and had room enough for Raina to even stretch out her legs. She settled down to lick her fur dry and snack on her small mouse, an appetizer before a large dinner served by Camaenil.

Raina felt like a queen of cats under the bright, strong sunshine.

That is, until she was rudely pushed from her relaxing resting place by a flailing leg.

Someone has tripped over the lavender bush while coming from the archery fields! _This is an abomination! _Raina stood up to give the person a piece of her mind. With a disgruntled meow of protest, she leaped over the bush and pounces on something that felt like a thin twig. She heard a small snap under her paws, and looking down she saw that she snapped a tiny arrow.

"Oh no!" a voice nearby wailed. Glancing up, she identified the person as the golden-haired young of the Big One. He was an important figure in the dwelling, and she backed away from the broken arrow.

He leaned down to gather up the shards, and shooed Raina away. It was an important arrow to him, and had special significance.

"Now look what you've done! You've broken the arrow given to me by Father when he gave me my very first bow!" He stood up and placed the arrow in his quiver.

Raina sensed that he was distressed and padded over to him. Winding around his legs, she purred her heart out to show that she was sorry for breaking the small arrow.

He laughed and petted her on the back. He gathered her up in his arms, and walked forward, not having the heart to leave her in the gardens. After all, even though the arrow had much sentimental value, a small animal was worth far more than that.

As for Raina, she sensed it was time for dinner.

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**Author's Note: Well, there you go! How did you all like it? Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of it, because I'm having a lot of doubts about this chapter. I hope you all realised who the golden-haired elf was...it's quite hard to let you know who they are without mentioning their names. I'm relying solely on characterisation and description! :)**

**Also, please check out the poll on my profile and vote for where you think Raina should visit. It helps me so much to know what you people think! :)**


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